End of Tour

Monday 17th June

Today was a reserve day, in case there was a big group and some needed to do their Gorilla Experience today. We were not looking forward to another wasted day at the resort and fortunately Nomad had an optional tour to Rwanda. We were a little concerned as it did mean two border crossings, but it seemed like a good idea.

Arriving at the border crossing into Rwanda we were told that Aussies didn't need a visa, saving $50USD, so that was awesome and a nice little win for us. Rwanda is quite different to Uganda in that the roads are super smooth, there is very good street lighting and the speed limit is 60 for almost all of the country - and there are many speed cameras. There are pushbikes absolutely everwhere, even on the country roads far from the city. Motorbike riders all wear helmets and there were never more than 2 to a bike. The traffic lights have timers on them, showing how long until they change. Another difference was that they drive on the opposite side of the road to Uganda (Uganda is on the left and Rwanda on the right), so our driver was driving on the right hand side of the road in a right hand drive car. Similarities though were the sheer volume of traffic and the pushing and shoving through roundabouts and uncontrolled intersections.

At one point we drove past a huge hill of eucalyptus trees that had been imported from Australia. Apparently the wood is very good for making charcoal that almost all houses use for cooking. It is strange because to make the charcoal they partially burn the wood before packing into bags. 

Rwanda is a very hilly country and the capital, Kigali, reminded our American friends of San Francisco. It is also very clean with virtually no rubbish seen on the streets. On the last Saturday of each month they have 'Umuganda', a morning (8:00 until 11:00) of compulsory community service to clean the country. Failure to take part in Umuganda results in fines. 

Our tour took in some pretty sad sites. First was the 'Belgium Memorial' that remembers 10 Belgium peacekeepers who were killed trying to protect the incoming President. A new one was required because the previous President's plane had been shot down. False rumours spread that Belgium was responsible, hence the murder of those peacekeepers - as well as 12 Belguim citizens living in Kigali. Next was the Kigali Genocide Museum which commemorated the almost 1 Million Tutsi's who were killed by the Hutu's in 1994. It was incredibly sombre and sad to read about how neighbours were pitted against each other and Hutu's were actively encouraged to kill their Tutsi friends - and in some cases godparents to their children. Women and children were specifically targeted in order to stop future generations of Tutsi's and as you can imagine they were tortured and raped prior to being killed. In a lot of cases the rapes were performed by HIV positive men and then the women were allowed to live -  clearly with the spectre of HIV/AIDS hanging over them.

After the Museum, we went to Hotel des Mille Collines, also known as Hotel Rwanda for lunch. Neither Trace or I have seen the film, but we plan to now. Lunch was very nice and we sat outside under cover, by the pool.  One interesting thing here was a decibel meter near our table. We are not sure what the point of it was,  but it was a very upmarket hotel, so guest consideration was probably the reason.

Final stop was a market, which was pretty awful. It was set-up similar to Queen Vic market, under cover and multiple aisles. As soon as we stepped into an aisle we had around 6 different shop-keepers all clamouring for our business. We just didn't want to go into any of the stalls, or show the slightest interest because they were extremely persistent and harrassing. Our driver/guide led us through this part and into the food area, which was far more pleasant as no-one seemed to expect us to buy anything. We spent only 10 minutes there in total, but most of the girls wanted to steele themselves and dive back in. Trace and I chose to walk the street, people watching, instead of going back in and we all met up again at the van after 30 minutes. I think they all bought a few things but we were still glad not to have returned.

The drive back was uneventful, though getting back into Uganda cost us another $50USD each and whilst Trace had 4 fingers on her right hand electronically finger printed, I had all 10 fingers/thumbs done. Maybe I looked dodgy.

Tuesday 18th June

Up at 6:00am and ready to depart by 7:30. This was our first day in the truck and not much had changed since 2018, except for a filtered water tap just inside the door. With only 9 on the tour we each had our own set of two seats, so could all have a window. Our destination today was Lake Mburo (Leopard Camp) and we arrived around lunch. We all checked in whilst the cook and driver started making our lunch - tuna salad and stir fried vegetables. The camp runs off solar power only, so there are no powerpoints in the rooms, but a couple of long powerboards in the bar and reception area to charge phones. Internet was only availble in the bar, though it was a little patchy. I also had no reception from my Sim card, so that was a bit annoying. The rooms were quite basic, with a double and single bed and the toilet and shower were in a walled off 'room' with no roof. We were warned that the power might run out during the night, but our single light did turn on in the morning.

After lunch we had some free time before a game walk at 4:30. We all went to the bar to charge phones, use the internet and chat.

The game walk took us into the nearby National Park where we saw Zebras, Gazelles, warthogs and some Eland. The Eland are the biggest of the Antelope family and are normally hard to find, but we saw a group of 4. We also saw some Dwarf Mongoose who were living in an old termite mound. As well as the African animals we saw a large herd of long horn cows that are allowed to graze there. These cows are mostly used for meat and the horns for jewellery and ornaments. The walk went for about 2 hours, 30 minutes longer than planned, mostly because of the Eland. Our Guide carried a gun, for warning shots he assured us.

After dinner we had a bit of a sing-a-long, as one of the group is a professional musician (Mare Wakefield). I didn't join in but enjoyed listening to her voice - and most of the others. :)

Wednesday 19th

Another transit day and our last on the truck. Awake again at 6:00 to leave by 7:30. If 1.5 hours seems too long, we need to pack up, put our bags on the truck, eat breakfast then help wash dishes and load the truck. We could probably do it in an hour but it is nice not being rushed. Our outdoor shower in the dark was novel. 

We made one stop on the way to Kampala, at the Equator. This was the 3rd equator crossing for the group and our second. We took a few group photos and watched as a guy poured water into 3 different containers. One in the Northern Hemisphere drained clockwise, the Southern Hemisphere one drained anti-clockwise whilst the one on the equator line drained virtually straight down. it was fascinating to see.  

We then had about 20 minutes to look in the shops before heading to Kampala and our hotel for the night.  The rest of the tour group are continuing onto Jinga whereas we finished our portion of the tour. Lunch was provided by the Hotel as lunchboxes and everyone else took theirs onto the truck. We said our good byes, then checked in and ate in our room.

After a few early mornings we were pretty tired so stayed in the room to rest and writing diaries/blogs.

We have enjoyed temperatures of 25 -31 degrees throughout Africa, so will struggle with freezing Melbourne on Friday night when we arrive home.

Uganda has been very nice and the tour, great. Here are a few random photos taken from the truck to round out the trip.